Sadler redeems himself with Nationwide win at Iowa

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) -- Elliott Sadler rebounded from the disappointment of his jumped-restart penalty last week in Indianapolis to win the NASCAR Nationwide race at Iowa Speedway on Saturday night.

Sadler denied Ricky Stenhouse Jr. a fourth straight victory at the track, and increased his lead in the series standings to 18 points over Austin Dillon.

Sadler won the pole with a track-record qualifying speed of 135.141 mph and was near or at the front of the pack the entire race. He overtook Justin Allgaier on the 192nd lap and went on to his fourth victory of the season.

Allgaier was second, followed by Sam Hornish Jr., Michael Annett and Stenhouse.

Danica Patrick, who crashed early in Indianapolis last week, finished 11th.

Hornish won the final "Dash4Cash" bonus of $100,000. His fan partner, Tammy Altieri of Spokane, Wash., also won $100,000.

Sadler came into the race still smarting from what he believed was an unjust penalty levied against him in Indianapolis. He was in contention for the win there when he passed eventual winner Brad Keselowski on a restart with 18 laps to go.

Officials ruled that Sadler went too early and black-flagged him. Sadler said he did nothing wrong because Keselowski slowed unexpectedly and Sadler was getting pushed from behind.

Sadler said before the race that he came to Iowa with greater determination because of the penalty, and his driving showed it.

The third and final caution came on the 172nd lap. Sadler came out third on the restart behind Allgaier and Kurt Busch. Sadler picked off Busch right away, then steadily cut into Allgaier's lead before passing him on the inside with 58 laps left.

Busch, running third, shredded a tire with six laps to go.

Sadler had come close to winning at Iowa. He won the pole in two previous starts here, and he also had three top-five finishes at the track. He was second to Stenhouse in May.

Once he crossed the finish line Saturday, he popped out of his car, pounded the roof and raised his arms over his head in celebration before taking the checkered flag.

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